It’s so fun when your baby hits new milestones! Rolling over, sitting up, getting up on their knees, and eating their first foods. It’s definitely a game changer when your baby starts to crawl. All of a sudden, they’re everywhere! No more leaving them in one spot and expecting them to stay there. Babies love their new found freedom and love to explore. It’s super important to baby proof your home if you haven’t already. Anything within their reach is fair game. And you have to be SUPER careful if you have stairs.

My son is 8 months old. He loves stairs. This is actually the first time we’ve lived somewhere that has stairs. Usually we don’t have to worry about it until we go to grandma and grandpa’s. But with stairs in our home, we have to always be watching where Jack is. And he knows he’s not supposed to be on the stairs. It’s amazing how perceptive these little guys are. This is usually how it goes:

I bring Jack downstairs and set him on the ground. He crawls around for maybe 30 seconds and then beelines for the stairs. He chuckles all the way over there. Then once on the stairs, he starts chuckling more! And he is always looking back to see if I’m there to get him. When I call his name, he just crawls faster and giggles all the way! He thinks it’s so funny when I pick him up. 8 months old. I have a feeling I’ll have some crazy days ahead with this little guy. Good thing he’s cute.

But there are ways to protect our children from falling down stairs. Here are some tips about stair safety.

Baby Gate

According to the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, every 6 minutes, a child younger than 5 is rushed to an ER for a stair-related injury.

The easiest way to protect your baby from the stairs is to put up a baby gate. We have an adjustable one we found on Amazon that we can easily move to different places around the house when we need to for stair safety. It’s pretty sturdy and our baby can’t push it down. So now when I bring Jack downstairs, I just put the baby gate up and he can’t climb up the stairs. You can also purchase a baby gate that screws into the wall that can’t be moved so the gate is always in place. These are best for the top of the stairs because the pressure-mounted gates (the one that we have) can fall over when too much pressure is placed on them. My toddler has definitely knocked ours down.

It is important to do your research on baby gates before you purchase them to find the one that suits your needs for stair safety. There are tons of different options available. And it’s important to remember that baby gates are no longer safe when your child learns to climb over them.

Keep Things Off the Stairs

My son loves to crawl up the stairs and he loves to play with anything left on them. But when he grabs them, he doesn’t know that he needs his hands for balance just yet and can fall backwards. So it’s a great idea to keep things off your stairs to help prevent falls.

If you’re like me, I put things on the stairs that need to go up. So I have a basket on the landing that I throw all the toys and clothes in that need to go back upstairs. This way the stairs stay clear of extra things.

Teach Them to Crawl Down

Eventually, you’ll need to teach your kids to be able to go up and down the stairs. Usually they can crawl up just fine, but crawling down is the tricky part. They want to go head first which is not ideal. We always teach our kids to go down backwards – feet first. So the same way they came up, just moving down now. As they approach the top of the stairs, turn them around and guide them down the stairs feet first so they’re crawling down. This will take some time and patience to teach, but they’ll get it. And then they’ll get super fast at it and if your kids are like mine, they’ll start sliding on their tummies to see how fast they can go.

Never Use Baby Walkers

I remember seeing baby walkers when I was a kid, but I recently learned that they are super dangerous! A baby can head towards stairs or steps and fall down them. They’re more likely to see the stairs when they’re crawling or walking. So if you want to be able to put your child in an activity center to help them build their leg muscles and/or entertain them, make sure to use something stationary.

September is Baby Safety month and I’m working with Owlet Baby Care whose number one priority is keeping babies safe. Have you heard of Owlet? They have the most amazing product! They created a monitor that fits over your baby’s foot in a little sock. It monitors their heart rate and oxygen levels so you can sleep better at night. After each of my 4 children were born, I was so concerned at night about my babies breathing. It caused a lot of stress and worry. I would want to check on the baby a lot to make sure they were ok. This product helps you have peace of mind that your baby is being monitored even when you sleep. Amazing!

Owlet Giveaway

And Owlet is doing a giveaway where 4 winners will be chosen to win 1 of each of these 4 amazing products!

Thanks Michelle! He’s easy to take pics of. 😉 He has grown up so much lately and is changing all the time! I wish I had an Owlet for my kids when they were small. I bet you would love it! I’m pretty sure it was started by some BYU guys too which is pretty cool.

Yeah it’s amazing! I’m sure it would help you relax at night knowing your baby is being watched over while you sleep. There’s a lot of anxiety and worry that comes with a newborn (and lots of great moments too), so this would be one less thing you have to worry about. I am so excited for you to have your little baby next month Randi! You are going to be a great mom!

Thanks for stopping by!

Welcome! I'm Alexis. I'm a wife and mom to 4 kids under the age of 6. So life is crazy for our family, but we are learning to enjoy the little moments. Come learn with me as I discover to be a better crafter, baker, budgeter, and mom. Read More…